Governor Christie Says We Already Have Enough Gun Laws [POLL/AUDIO]

Since last Friday’s movie theater massacre in Colorado politicians have been crawling out of the woodwork demanding tougher gun laws.

Governor's Office/Tim Larsen

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie says, “I agree with the President (Barack Obama). The President believes that we have enough gun laws on the books now and that we need to aggressively enforce the ones we have and now is not the appropriate time to be discussing anything further and I’m not going to engage in that conversation.”

Yesterday, the public got its first look at James Holmes since Friday’s shooting rampage near Denver. He was formally charged in the shootings that left 12 people dead and more than 50 others wounded. Yesterday, with orange-dyed and hair and a confused look Holmes was in court as the judge advised him of the case. He could face the death penalty.

Lawmakers from across the country are pointing to the tragedy as proof-positive that stricter gun laws are needed. U.S. Senator Frank Lautenberg from New Jersey is among them, but this is actually nothing new for him. For years, Lautenberg has been demanding that a loophole in gun show laws be closed. Currently almost anyone can buy a weapon at these shows according to Lautenberg.

Christie and Lautenberg have been feuding over various issues for years. The Governor did not mention the Senator’s name yesterday when addressing a question on the gun law topic, but he did say, “I am a little bit disturbed by politicians who, in the immediate aftermath of this type of tragedy try to grandstand on it…..I feel awfully for those families (of victims). There are two with New Jersey roots; one who was injured and one who was killed and this is just not the appropriate time to be grandstanding about gun laws.”

Christie asks, “Can we at least get through the initial grief and tragedy for these families before we start making them political pawns. Can we take a deep breath before the politicians start sending out press releases? Can we allow the people to be mourned appropriately by their families before you have opportunistic politicians out there trying to make political points in an election year?”

“The shooting in Aurora is a horrific act of violence, and our thoughts go out to the innocent victims and their families. Our hearts are filled with sadness for the 12 people killed and the dozens wounded in this senseless act,” Lautenberg said on Friday. “We have to face the reality that these types of tragedies will continue to occur unless we do something about our nation’s lax gun laws.”

Last year, Lautenberg introduced legislation to ban high-capacity ammunition magazines. Lautenberg also is the author of two bills aimed at closing significant loopholes in U.S. law-the “gun show loophole” and the “Terror Gap”-that he feels make it easier for criminals and terrorists to obtain guns and explosives to carry out their crimes.

In a press release put out Friday, the New Jersey Ceasefire Project of the Coalition for Peace Action said, “Our thoughts and prayers go out to all of the victims and their families and we extend our condolences on this Friday, June 20th, following the massacre at the Aurora Theater in Aurora, Colorado. Ceasefire NJ is deeply saddened that once again a massacre has occurred in the United States, with 12 lives senselessly taken by gun violence and another 38 people wounded. Unfortunately, however, mass shootings such as this tragedy in Aurora are not surprising because of the ease of access to guns, especially assault weapons, which have no place in the hands of private citizens.”

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